Sex and the Illinois Senate race

He said, she said, his party lost

Bad news for Republicans in the mid-west

WHAT would Abraham Lincoln say—let alone strait-laced Mary Lincoln? Abe's heirs in the Illinois Republican Party stagger from one scandal to another, or at least from one Ryan to another. Just when news seemed to have moved on from former Governor George, who was indicted on various fraud charges late last year, the party now has to decide what to do with Senate candidate Jack.

Mr Ryan, an investment banker-turned teacher, had seemed a dream candidate, equipped with wealth, good looks and even a social conscience. Now records from his divorce case have been made public by a California court. In them, his ex-wife, Jeri, an actress best known for her role in “Star Trek”, claims that he took her to sex clubs in New York and Paris and asked her to have sex with him there while others watched. Pure science fiction, he replies: he organised romantic trips for her and once they visited a risqué club, in Paris, but both of them felt uncomfortable—and left.

A classic case of he said, she said, it would seem? The wretched Mr Ryan has done nothing illegal, and, even if true, the allegations may strike many voters in the post-Clinton era as relatively mild. Alas for Mr Ryan, the conservative wing of his party is unlikely to be so understanding. Meanwhile, he is also in trouble with the party bosses who claim that he misled them about the embarrassing nature of the files, which he had fought to keep sealed. There had been rumours that something juicy was in them during the primary, a contest in which Mr Ryan beat seven other candidates.

As The Economist went to press, Mr Ryan was vowing to fight on. But he was already well behind the arguably still more charismatic Democrat, Barack Obama, in the race for the seat now held by Peter Fitzgerald, a Republican who is not seeking re-election. The White House had shown interest in Mr Ryan's campaign; but Bush-Cheney officials indicated this week that they would shift their focus to other, more competitive races, at least until the controversy cools.